The Pity Of War-The Spirit Of Humanity in Wilfred Owen39;s War Poetry and Chinese War Poems.doc

AbstractOwens poetry is perhaps quite unfamiliar to those who dont have much knowledge of English literature, because it is an unexplored area by Chinese students and scholars.Although there are a lot of war poems in Chinese literature, many of them glorify war. These poems form a sharp contrast with many of the most prominent war poems of World War One that depicted was as “hell”, the cause of all the miseries and sufferings of the participants, whichever side they were on.There also exist a number of Chinese war poems, which express sympathy for soldiers, their families, and other victims of war. These war poems, while showing weariness and even hatred of war, are largely gentle complaint. However, the war poetry by Wilfred Owen is much stronger in mood. His poems all show anger towards the waste and futility of war. His perspective on war remains largely unknown to Chinese readers who are used to reading poems that either glorify war or complain gently about war.Therefore, I believe that my dissertation will fill the gap. By comparing anti-war poems in English literature and in Chinese literature in terms of their mood and language, and reviewing other literary works on war, the dissertation may help Chinese readers get a better understanding about the anti-war perspective in English literature, and hopefully can enable them to understand the influences of this perspective in western society. I believe that understanding more about anti-war poetry can be conducive to their ability to think independently as it can help them form wiser and more rational judgments about current affairs concerning war.Key Words: The Pity of War The Spirit of Humanity Wilfred Owens war poetry Chinese War PoemsThe Pity Of War-The Spirit Of Humanity in Wilfred Owens War Poetry and Chinese War PoemsIntroduction:I have always taken an interest in reading Chinese poems and especially in reading traditional Chinese war poetry. This kind of war poems often evoked a sort of nationalism in me as soldiers are regarded as heroes or devils and war is glorified. In the eyes of such poets, war is necessary for the benefit of their countries. Their motherland should be defended; their patriotism can be demonstrated in war; therefore, war should be waged. Therefore, it surprised me to read poems written by a British war poet, Wilfred Owen when I took a British Literature Course in Grade 3. His poems were totally different from the war poems I had read before in many respects. War was depicted as hell and an abyss of sufferings in his poems, and all soldiers were described as victims of war. All the struggles and feelings of frustration and depression have sprung from war. Owens insight into war is attributed to his war experience. As a participant of World War One, Owen witnessed and experienced all the sufferings. The anti-war perspective held by Owen, along with other prominent poets of the Great War is also reflected in many Chinese poems. This forms a sharp contrast with war poems before Owen and with a lot of many ancient Chinese war poems, both of which glorified war. By comparing anti-war poems in English literature and in Chinese literature in terms of their mood and language, and reviewing other literary works on war, the dissertation may help Chinese readers get a better understanding of the anti-war perspective in English literature, and hopefully can enable them to understand the influences of this perspective in western society. I believe that understanding more about anti-war poetry can be conducive to their ability to think independently as it can help them form wiser and more rational judgments about current affairs concerning war.I. War poems glorifying war in both Chinese literature and English literaturePoems that glorify war are typical of Chinese war poems. They share the theme of nationalism. This kind of poems dates back to the very beginning of Chinese literature. A couple of war poems have been found in the “ Book of Odes”, one of the oldest documents of Chinese literary works. Most of them focus on the unparalleled power and authority of the rulers and patriotism is central to their theme. One good example is the poem “Chu Che”, in which the soldiers, in awe of the king, readily follow the order of their king and took on the responsibility to defend the peace of their country, as is reflected in these lines: “The son of Heaven had charged us, To build a wall in that northern region. Awe-inspiring was Nan Zhong;The Xian-yun were sure to be swept away !” In later periods, war poems evolved and changed in form and style, but the theme remained more or less the same. Numerous war poems glorifying war appeared in periods of time of domestic unrest or foreign invasion. Take Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty for example. These two dynasties, troubled by domestic uprisings and wars, were an inexhaustible source of inspiration and motivation for the poets composition of war poems. These poets honoured the act of fighting for China, and their poems reflected the poets ambition to fight in war so as to make a contribution to their country. As the famous Chinese poet, Wang Wei said in his poem “Song of An Old General”: “Since this mans retirement he is looking old and worn: ” “But, if he prayed, the waters would come gushing for his men And never would he wanton his cause away with wine” “He is ready with his strong northern bow to smite the Tartar chieftain That never a foreign war-dress may affront the Emperor.” “ .There once was an aged Prefect, forgotten and far away, Who still could manage triumph with a single stroke.”In the poem, the retired general, though old and not as strong or swift as he used to be, is still eager to serve his country and fight in war, and was ambitious to demonstrate his nationalism and to gain reputation. It is, in the eyes of such poets, a glorious thing to take part in war for the benefits and rights of their countries. Wang Changling, a famous war poet of the Tang Dynasty, expressed a similar wish in the poem “Over the border”: “Oh, for the Winged General at the Dragon City That never a Tartar horseman might cross the Yin Mountains!” In the poem, he expressed his dissatisfaction over the incompetence of the border soldiers; he wished that the government could deploy more powerful and competent troops to pacify the border so that the people could eventually live in peace. More recently, the poems written by Chairman Mao during the war against Japan, showed his ambition to rid China of feudalism, imperialism and bureaucratic capitalism and to establish a new, strong and free nation by means of war. In English literature, there are also poems and other literary works that glorify war. In one of Shakespeares history plays, “Henry V”, the British king, Henry V, decided to invade a non-aggressive country, France, for the well-being and stability of his entire nation. In the play, Henry V is a model of traditional heroism, and his sense of honour leads him to stage war and to slaughter thousands of people. Though he talks of favoring peace, Henry actually views war as a must for the honour of his nation. The whole play is full of heroic battles and “valiant English underdogs fighting their way to victory against all odds”. (Net.8.) Henry, an ideal leader as portrayed in the play, gives two inspiring speeches to motivate his men to fight for Britain, one for the Battle of Harfleur, and the other for the Battle of Agincourt. These two speeches are perfect examples of the glorification of war. For instance, in his speech at the Battle of Harfleur:“Then imitate the action of the tiger. Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide, Hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit”. Henry uses a number of metaphors for the violence of war, including images of eating and devouring to urge soldiers to fight savagely like tigers: “and if to live, The fewer men, the greater share of honour.Gods will, I pray thee wish not one man more” In his speech before the Battle of Agincourt, in which the French force outnumbers the British force, Henry indicates that the amount of honour to be won in the battle is a fixed amount that will be divided equally among all the victors and that if there were more men present, then there would be less honour for each man to gain in victory. In this way, Henry stirs a small army to fight for as much honour as possible, and manages to win a battle in which the weak British force is at first on the defensive.The purpose of war, as described in Henry V, is the honour of the nation. War in Henry V is, then, a glorious thing because it brings “honour” for a nation and its soldiers.The point of view as described in Henry V, however, was challenged and eventually transformed in the greatest war in mankinds history-World War One. II. Owen and his war poetry in World War One 1. Wilfred Owen and other war poets of the Great WarDuring World War One, which became known as “ The Great War” for its unprecedented and long-standing effect on the world, poets like Owen began to explore the dark side of war. The change in their perspective on war resulted from several factors, and the unprecedented scale of the war may be regarded as the key one. 13 million are estimated to have died on the battlefronts of Europe, about 1-1/2 million on the western front alone in the year 1916. To quote an author in the Suffolk County Community College: “World War I was, indeed, the most disastrous war ever fought in history. Words are totally inadequate to describe the slaughter, and statistics too cold to convey the human cost.”“The Great War affected virtually everyone in the world at that time, but no one had been able to anticipate the consequences when at the very beginning war began with “patriotic fervor on the part of both the soldiers marching off, and their loved-ones cheering them on.” (Net.7.)Everyone expected the war to be over before Christmas- the German Emperor even promised to its people that the war would end before autumn. (Net.7.) The consequences out of proportion to all anticipations-the death of 13 million people and all other effects of war on the soldiers who survived the war - triggered lots of questions about the purpose and nature of the war and also brought about a change in the way in which war was seen. Instead of glorifying war, poets started to raise questions about war. They not only questioned the nature of war, but also explored the situation and feelings of the soldiers, who were depicted as victims of war in their poems. 2. Wilfred Owen and the pity of warAs a participant of the Great War, Wilfred Owen was well aware of the horror of war. He held an attitude quite different from that of some famous war poets like Rupert Brooke, who, with no war experience, held an over-romantic view of war. In 1915, Owen enlisted in the Artists Rifles, and only after only a few days in the front line, Owen wrote to his mother: I can see no excuse for deceiving you about these 4 days. I have suffered seventh hell.I have not been at the front. I have been in front of it. (Paul Fussell, 1977:81).On May 2 1916, Owen was diagnosed as suffering from shell shock and so had to withdraw from the battlefield. When he was staying in the Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh for treatment, he met another famous war poet, Siegfried Sassoon, who encouraged him to publish his poems. He returned to the front later and was killed just a week before the end of the war, at the age of 25.As a victim of war, Owen knew better than a lot of other poets of all the sacrifice and miseries in the battlefield. His war experience was short: it lasted for only about four months, but he was horrified at and transformed by what his sharp poets eye saw at the front. “Owen started the war a cheerful and optimistic man but during the two years of war he was changed forever.” (Net.6.)Actually, Owen had already had some awareness of the horror of war even before he enlisted in the army from his visits to hospitals in Bordeaux, France, in which he became acquainted with many of the wars wounded. Deeply affected by these visits, the 22 year-old young Owen returned to England and enlisted in the British Army. In September, 1915, Owen explained why he had made the decision: I came out in order to help these boys-directly by leading them as well as an officer can; indirectly, by watching their sufferings that I may speak of them as well as a leader can. I have done the first.” (Net.6.) While fighting in the hell of trenches in France, Owen was bitterly enraged at the senseless killing of the battlefields and the inability of anyone to stop it. He felt enormous pity for his fellow soldiers who suffered, fought, and died in the mud and misery of the trenches. Therefore, he decided to depict what he had witnessed in the battlefield in order to awake people to the horror of war. In the words of his Preface, “All a poet can do is warn”. His poetry first served to make civilians at home aware of the horrific side of war. Secondly and most importantly, his poetry was meant to portray the soldiers sufferings and to evoke the pity of war, as he says in his preface to a book of his poetry that he hoped to publish in 1919: “My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity. (Net.13.)Owens war poetry, which manifests the horror and futility of war, is exemplified by several poems and analyses of these poems will give readers a deeper insight into Owens poetic theme - the pity of war - and the poetic language by which he sought to convey his vision of war. What differs Owen from other war poets and makes him stand out are his poetic theme -the pity of war - and his use of language to develop his theme-including the use of ugly images, the use of pararhyme and half- rhyme, and harsh lines and sounds which characterize his poetry. These characteristics play an important role in helping Owen achieve his intention: to warn and to awake people to the realities of war. The pity finds its way into the poetry through a language that is neither elegant nor pretty. (Net.3.) It is the poetry of pain, the poetry of pity; it is simply to portray what he saw with the eyes of a poet in the war. Owen revealed the soul of soldiers more than anyone else before him because he used harsh and vivid language together with his own thoughts and imagination of his heart to reflect the pity in his poems.Owen successfully achieved his intended purpose with a small number of works, only four of which were published during his lifetime. There is a process of development in his poetry, in which the poems matured in both poetic theme and diction. His poetry first disillusioned his readers and then progressed to evoke the pity of war in them. “Dulce et Decorum Est” (1917) is a good example of his early works that powerfully shatter the deep-rooted patriotic myth. The purpose of Owen writing this poem is revealed in the last lines: “The old Lie: Dulce et decorum estPro patria mori.” (It is sweet and fitting to die for ones country.-the first words of a Latin saying from an ode by Horace) In writing this poem, Owen hoped to expose the old lie that it is sweet to die for ones country. This again corresponds to his words in the Preface: “All a poet can do is warn”. At the beginning of the World War I, soldiers and civilians had faith in this lie about war. This old idea was exemplified by the poems of one of the most famous war poets of the World War I, Rupert Brooke, who, before Owen, had been the icon of the Great War and who held an idealistic view of war. In the poem, “The Dead”, Brooke attaches much glory and honour to fighting and dying in war: He claims that death shouldnt be feared and he also suggests that to die for ones nation is rich and glorious as he says:“dying, has made us rarer gifts than gold”. “They brought us, for our dearth,Holiness, lacked so long, and Love, and Pain”Although Brooke doesnt have any war experience, he is an ardent supporter of war. He declares in “the Soldier”:If I should die, think only this of me:That theres some corner of a foreign fieldThat is for ever England.”Apparently, this soldier is willing and very happy to die for his country. In the poem, the soldier” expresses his love for his motherland and his willingness to fight and die for this beautiful country. Believing in the idea as described by Brooke, a lot of young soldiers were deluded to war; the civilians at home, not knowing what was happening to their loved ones, still held an optimistic attitude towards war. But, Owen says in “Dulce et Decorum est”, it is but an old lie to say it is sweet and fitting to die for your country!Indeed, few are likely to believe “the old lie” as exemplified in “The Soldier” or in “The Death” by Brooke, after reading in “Dulce et Decorum est” about the hardship facing the soldiers, about how an individual soldier gets poisoned in the battlefield and about how the terrible scene affects all the soldiers that have witnessed it. The despair haunting the soldier in “Dulce et Decorum Est” is a sharp contrast with the blissful state of the soldier in Brookes “The Soldier”, thus exposing the old lie in Brookes poems.“Dulce et Decorum est” first depicts the terrible situations facing the soldiers in general, further shattering the old myth about war:“All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots”These soldiers, crushed both physically and mentally, would not think “it is sweet and fitting to die for ones country”.The description of the harshness facing all the soldiers is followed by detailed descriptions of an individual soldier. This soldier